Late in the evening on June 24, the City Council passed the biennial budget for 2025-2027. A few weeks ago, I praised the budget proposal put forward by Councilmembers Jesse Zwick, Caroline Torosis and Dan Hall. I didn’t praise it because I liked it. How can anyone like drastic reductions to city services? I praised it because of the leadership exhibited by the three Councilmembers championing unpopular cuts, which resulted in almost a 10% decrease in proposed deficit spending. You might think the Councilmembers would be taking a bit of a victory lap. If so, you would be mistaken. All three Councilmembers voted against the budget.
If you’re feeling whiplash trying to comprehend this abrupt and somewhat irresponsible reversal, I should point out that it seemed to be a vote of conscience for them. They were taking a moral stand against an amendment they disapproved of, and we should know by now that we’re living at a time when compromise is a dirty word.
The contested amendment restored previously eliminated funding for the seven neighborhood organizations (Friends of Sunset Park, North of Montana Association, Santa Monica Northeast Neighbors, Ocean Park Association, Pico Neighborhood Association, Santa Monica Mid-City Neighbors, and Wilshire/Montana Neighborhood Coalition). Councilmembers Ellis Raskin and Natalya Zernitskaya requested that $7,000 grants be reinstated using savings from downsizing in the staffing of the police department.
On one hand, it’s deeply objectionable to transfer money to these groups that was earmarked from Measures K and PSK for public safety, voters’ number one priority. But on the other hand, it’s a bit of a three-card monte game identifying which city dollars come from which source.
Councilmember Hall had a different objection. He said it was “disgusting” to give taxpayer money to organizations that make political endorsements. While his language was harsh, he made a compelling point that Torosis and Zwick supported. However, it should be noted that several of the neighborhood organizations endorsed the opposing slate in the 2024 elections. So is this a case of moral outrage or political payback?
Regardless, it’s hard to argue for using public funds to subsidize partisan groups. The other four Councilmembers didn’t attempt to do so. But after giving lip service to the principles of clean government, they voted for awarding the grants with the sole caveat that none of the money could be designated for political purposes, choosing the “high” moral ground of “see no evil, hear no evil.”
I would like to give Hall, Torosis and Zwick credit for taking a stand against political backscratching, but the neighborhood organizations also provide many beneficial, nonpolitical services. And, oddly, the only organization allocated funding in the three Councilmembers’ budget proposal was the Early Childhood Task Force, which happens to be run by former Mayor Gleam Davis.
Santa Monica is a small city with a disproportionately large amount of political machinations. At a time of precarious municipal finances, it’s disheartening to recognize the amount of control wielded by behind-the-scenes power players, some of whom have altruistic intentions and some less so. But the advantage of being such a small city is that each citizen has an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference. It doesn’t take many people to impact policy choices here, and it shouldn’t be only the loudest or the most politically connected. It should be you.
So wake up Santa Monica, and, even more important since you’re reading a newspaper, wake up your friends and relatives. Encourage them to pay attention to what’s going on. Democracy is being threatened not only by cynicism in our nation’s capital but by apathy in our living rooms. Transparency in government requires shining a light on what our leaders do in the middle of the night, but it also requires voters taking the time to look. Do I believe our Councilmembers are corrupt? No, I don’t. Do I believe they have nefarious intentions? Absolutely not. But do I believe that we can expect more of them and of ourselves? Yes, we can.
Devan Sipher can be reached at Unmuted.SMDP@gmail.com